Sorry for being a bad blogger

Ok, I'm still here! Didn't quit, I promise :). I have been super bust at night this week, which is when I usually blog, so I just keep putting it off. The past few days have been good, my cravings are not as strong as they were last week, so that's nice! Being busy at night is a bit of a challenge, as I've had to eat at weird times or eat really stinky garlic chicken in the car (sorry family!) on the way to an event. But I'm now at day 21, which means- single digits left! Woohoo!

I won't do a day by day of breakfast lunch and dinner since it's been a few days and I honestly don't remember each meal. Breakfast is usually bacon/apple, apple/almond butter, or sausage and egg scramble. Lunch is almost always leftovers from dinner.

I do have two really good recipes to share.

Chicken nuggets: these are delish, but SUPER GARLICKY. I love garlic but I think I might tone it down a touch next time. Have a toothbrush handy when you eat these, they are strong! I used half almond flour and half tapioca flour on mine, and I think that was a great combo. I'm not crazy about coconut flour, I don't like the sweetness.

Beef Bourgignon: this was SO GOOD. I need this- it is SO flavorful and filling. It's not a hard recipe at all- a little time consuming with the chopping and clean up, but so worth it. I left out the mushrooms because I don't like them, and I used beef stock instead of bone broth. You need to try this recipe, whether you are paleo or not! Oh, and next time I'll probably skip thickening it at the end. Maybe I didn't cook my thickener long enough, but it was kind of gloppy and slimy.

Ups and downs

So, this has been a hard week for me. I feel like I spend more time wanting to throw in the towel than being happy that I'm doing it. I know it's just my brain trying to convince me to feed it sugar, but let me tell you, it's doing a good job. I also don't think I ate enough today, so I'm a little tired and grumpy. I just don't get excited about meals or eating anymore. I feel like because I'm so picky, I have to force feed myself most of this food.

On the other hand- I am definitely experiencing some positives. I am not bloated, I do not crash around 4-5 pm every day. My pee is almost clear (sorry!). I am not having frequent upset stomachs, headaches and body aches, even though I am sick. I am falling asleep quickly and sleeping well. My favorite jeans fit again. That's a LOT of positives, and I'm only halfway through!

Just have to conquer those cravings! Because they are NO JOKE right now.

Day 16:

Breakfast: homemade sausage patties- got some organic ground pork at the market and added my own spices. I won't include the recipe because I think they were to italian seasoning-y and next time I'll make them simpler for sure.

Lunch: stewed chicken with balsamic dressing and roasted potatoes

Dinner: Creamy chicken veggie soup again (fresh batch). It was very good! I ate two full bowls, I was really hungry tonight.

Whoooa, I'm half way there, whoa, livin' on a prayer (for real though)

Day 15 has finally arrived! I get to start counting DOWN the days now, woohoo! This was a rough day because of some bad timing around lunch time. We started running errands about 30 minutes before lunch, and didn't end up getting back for another 2.5 hours. I had a small breakfast because I ran out of bacon (the horror!), so I was hungry. I brought some cashews in the car, but I wasn't really feeling them.

And then Maddie got hungry, so we decided to run through Chick-fil-a to get her a quick lunch. Y'all, I am not even kidding- the smell of those nuggets brought tears to my eyes. Also, CFA has like the best Dr. Pepper ever. I have two feet firmly planted in the land of cravings right now. This is actually not the first time CFA has brought me to tears...one time when I was super pregnant I pulled up at like 10:28 and they were out of chicken minis. My love of CFA is real(ly crazy).

Day 15:

Breakfast: apple and almond butter

Snack: cashews

Lunch: leftover grilled chicken and kale chips

Dinner: leftover grilled chicken and green beans

New York City! Day 2

Day 2

So, Maddie is a huge fan of the TODAY show, haha. She watches it with my mom sometimes so she knows all the anchors. When she found out we were going to NY, she really wanted to hold up a sign on tv. So we woke up waaaaay too early (neither of us are morning people), bundled up and checked out of the hotel (checked our bags with the bellhop).Took the subway over to the show and made our poster. 

It was SO COLD, so it wasn't super crowded. We made it on tv a couple times! We didn't stay long, only until about 7:45 because Maddie was really cold and I had already gotten texts that we were on tv, so it was time to get inside and warm up! I'm glad I did it once, but being a night owl- I probably wouldn't do it again :).

We walked over to Ellen's Stardust Diner for breakfast. I didn't tell Maddie that the waitresses/waiters sing, so it was a fun surprise for her. They weren't super crowded (only time I've ever been there without a school group taking up the whole place!), and when they saw Maddie, they sang three Disney princess songs in a row- she was in heaven! The food was ok (they don't have nutella french toast anymore, which was a bummer, bc that was pretty good), but we came more for the atmosphere anyway.

We took our time eating, then hopped on the subway and headed to the American Natural History Museum! I was so excited to show her this awesome place. We watched Night at the Museum a few nights before our trip, so she was pumped. We got there right at 10, checked our coats and bags, and headed straight for the top floor. We had the dinos all to ourselves for a while! She was impressed by those for about 10 minutes, then got bored of skeletons. We had time to see the whole museum though, and we both really enjoyed it. Her favorites were the butterfly conservatory, the gems, the hall of human origins, many of the animals, and of course, the discovery room! 

We took several sitting breaks in the museum, and after we left we walked to Gray's Papaya. Maddie loves hot dogs and papayas, so I figured it would be a hit- it was! I am not a big hot dog fan, so after that we subway'd back to Times Square and went to BonChon for me to grab some wings (they are my fave wings and we don't have one in my town!). Then we had about an hour to kill before our train left, so we wandered into a few tourist trap shops in Times Square and got Maddie an I heart NY shirt.

All in all, it was a great trip! I wish the weather had been warmer, but if we did the trip in April or May, the hotel and Lion King tickets probably would have been double the price, so I can put up with a little cold for a good deal :). Maddie is in LOVE with the city, she wants to sell our car and move there tomorrow!

New York City! Day 1

Please excuse this break from your regularly scheduled programming! I've been meaning to do a trip report of Maddie's first trip to NYC. I don't scrap book, so this is my favorite way to look back at trips I've taken!

Day 1:

We left PA around 8:30 and got to Penn Station via Amtrak at around 11:15. I was so nervous that our train would be delayed or cancelled because this was one day after the city shut down for the "historic" snow storm that didn't happen, haha. Luckily it was a smooth ride. 

We took the subway to our hotel, the Hilton at Times Square (I tried to do as little walking on this trip as possible, since she isn't used to it and little feet tire quickly). The subway was packed going from Penn Station to Times Square, but that just added to the excitement for Maddie. Girl LOVES the subway. We came out and she got a little preview of Times Square. She started accepting pamphlets from anyone that offered, until I taught her just to say no thanks and keep walking, haha!

We checked in at the Hilton and luckily our room was already ready- hooray! We were on the 32nd floor, which was a really cool experience for both of us! We had a pretty good view of the Empire State building. I got a great deal on this room- only in January, I'm sure! It was definitely the nicest place I've stayed in NYC, as I tend to go for the cheap, closet like rooms when I'm on my own :).

After dropping off our bags and bundling back up, we headed to FAO Schwartz. The first time I visited NYC I was 13, and I remember thinking FAO was cool then- so you can only imagine what it was like for a 6 year old. She was in heaven! She had gift money from her MomMom and Papa, so she bought a small stuffed dog and some spy glasses. We also visited the candy store- original plan was to go to Dylan's, but it was SO cold and I figured we can hit that next time. She got a bulk candy bag and just got a few treats- I was proud of her restraint!

We walked back to the subway (in Central Park- we had to at least wave at CP even if it was freezing! Next time we will definitely do more there- she loves the story of Balto so that's on my list) and grabbed a pretzel and water from a street vendor. Probably not the best pretzel around, but it was hot and we were hungry so it was a good choice. 

We subway'd our way back to Times Square. I saw her eyes get as big as saucers as a giant Olaf headed towards us, so I had to give the quick spiel on how these were not always nice people dressed up and they wanted money, so we have to just not look at them and walk away. She adapted like a pro. We stopped in at Toys'r'Us to ride the ferris wheel- she LOVES ferris wheels and this one was inside a store! I won some cool mom points for that one. We did a quick walk through, but had seen enough toys and all I bought was a book for her to read about NYC.

After this we walked back to the hotel for a little rest before dinner and a show. I knew she'd need a rest to stay up late, and all the walking wears me out too! It was really cool to see the beginning of the sunset and lights coming on from our hotel window. Around 4:30, we changed into our dressier clothes, bundled up and walked down to Gyu-Kaku. I love that place, their sukiyaki bibimbap is so good. And so are their happy hour drink prices! And I knew Maddie would love doing s'mores for dessert there. It was great!

Then we walked down to the Minskoff for The Lion King! We were both very excited. I saw The Lion King in NC years ago, but I couldn't wait to see it on Broadway. For anyone that doesn't know,

Maddie has loved the movie since she was 2. Her best friend/lovie is a stuffed Simba that she takes everywhere with her. She brought him to the show of course, and he was even wearing his tuxedo (yes, she dresses him, lol). We had awesome seats- row F on the left side, aisle seats. When all of the animals started coming down the aisles, Maddie was so excited! I have to admit, I teared up a couple of times. It was a great show. And props to the ushers, they didn't mess around telling people to put their phones away or quiet their kids during the show. I wish all theaters did that!

Then we walked back to the hotel and both fell asleep in approximately .02 seconds. What a great day in the city!

Hunger vs the cold

I've been referring to this post from the Whole30 folks on the "stages" of Whole30 that most people go through. It looks like I'm pretty much on track- and by that I mean I just want to quit and eat delicious food again. But my stubbornness will carry me through! Hopefully.

Ok, Day 14 round-up time.

Day 14:

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with spinach and bacon. I woke up super hungry today, probably because of small lunch and early dinner yesterday. I knew I needed something filling, so I did scrambled eggs. I tried cooking them differently this time, really slowly (I read about it in some cooking blog), and they were a tiny bit better. Not great, but I was able to eat a whole egg.

Lunch: leftover outback! plus some kale chips. Yummmm...heated up my baked potato and added ghee and garlic powder for a little more flavor.

Dinner: grilled chicken, roasted brussels sprouts and potatoes. I made this Italian dressing plus I added some pineapple chunks/juice for the marinade, and it was really good! It was a little dry, it would have been GREAT with ketchup. Maddie loved the chicken so much she asked for seconds, which she rarely does with meat. So score! I'm glad I made a lot. 

Oh, and did I mention that I grilled this chicken with the wind chill at around -9?? Across a porch of solid ice and snow? I always said I'd grill in any weather, I think today proved it!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today was a weird day, we ate a late breakfast but I knew we were going to eat a really early dinner (although it didn't end up being THAT early- call ahead seating at Outback fail), so I didn't want to do anything big for lunch. But tonight was the first time I got to eat out on Whole30, woohoo! It was nice to not worry about what I was making. It was a little bit of a bummer to skip the bread. And butter. And Chocolate Thunder from Down Under (my favorite dessert!). But it was a nice treat and I'm glad we went.

Day 13:

Breakfast:  bacon and an apple

Lunch: pistachios (lame, I know)

Dinner: steak and a sweet potato 

My first time eating a sweet potato, woop woop! It was ok. Not my fave. But I ate it (I feel like this is a common theme for me and vegetables). I ordered a 10 oz ribeye, lightly seasoned with no butter, a plain baked potato and a plain sweet potato, lol. The steak was really good. I brought home half the steak and the plain baked potato for lunch tomorrow. It is nice to find somewhere that I can eat without breaking rules (I researched it before I went!)